A shooting at the Renton Transit Center is renewing calls for more King County Metro Bus driver protections.
“I think we can do better. We have to do better,” says “Ken Price. He operated a Metro bus for 22 years and now serves as transit union (ATU 587) vice president.
“We are the number one paid operating transit right now and we cannot hire enough, or keep enough drivers,” alleges Price.
King County Metro is pushing back on that claim, telling KIRO 7 that while they have 133 driver vacancies, there are hundreds of applicants waiting to be trained.
Operator training is about 45 days, and last year changes were made to increase training for radio communication during an emergency, as well as the addition of a ‘De-escalation methods’ course.
Price believes it’s not enough.
“More training, support, training, de-escalation training, substance abuse management,” lists Price.
Meanwhile, the King County Sheriff is calling for greater county investment, as the county council looks to cut 150 million dollars from the county budget.
“The fact is, public safety is expensive,” says Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall.
Price echoes the calls for more investment and more riders, telling KIRO 7 there’s safety in numbers.
“Ride these buses,” encourages Price. “Not just once, ride them multiple times.”
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